Ivanchuk did win Linares (i think in 93) ahead of Kasparov and Karpov and a young Anand.

Well, Linares 93 was 14 years ago, but this year Morozevich ruled Linares. It was due to Morelia performance that he finished in the second place.

Kramnik-Anand is the match of the century.

Ivanchuk won Linares three times. In 1989, 1991 and 1995. He also won Corus in 1996.
Which ofcourse makes Mig's statement correct as Vassily did manage to stay in the world elite for over 10 years now without winning a true top level individual tournament.

Kramnik is playing like he did about a decade ago; in my opinion, before the painkillers got in the way. If He and Anand can keep their current form, we're all in for some great chess next year. It seems like only yesterday that Topolov was making a haughty statement about Kramnik's rating being too low to be considered a world champion candidate for him. Talk about what goes around, comes around. Nothing personal Topolov fans, just a matter-of-fact.

Was Mamedyarov's 28...Rb6 an atrocious blunder that Kramnik also missed? What happens on 29. R:b2 e.g. 29...Qe1+ 30.Kh2, 30... R:b2 31.Q:d4+ Qe5+ 32.Q:e5+ and Nd3+? I can't see why 30...Qe5+ 31.g3 would help e.g. 32.Nd7+. I assume I am missing something, but it looks simple enough and I don't have Fritzy at the moment.

Oh I see Nc5 is also hanging. I am really bad.

There's not much analytical material on this tournament in the English language and the three question marks in Kramnik-Mamedyarov at Chessbase don't really help understanding this game. Especially the two question marks after 41...Kd8 (where 41...Ke8 almost surely loses as well) are strange. I added some more notes to this interesting (time scamble!) fight.

Chess.FM has Larry Christiansen's very nice commentary on Kramnik-Mamedyarov--well worth the time.

Today Kramnik will play for a win against Ivanchuk. With a draw his rating is 2799, with a win he tops the fide rating list with 2804.

Next tournament will be Corus. Such a shame they didn't invite Shirov. Shirov and Leko are Kramnik's permanent full points in top level tournaments.

Didn't Anand just lose a few points? Maybe it is okay if Kramnik makes a draw?

Kramnik will top the list even with a draw. Shared with Anand, but officially #1 because of more games played.

Has anyone else noticed that Boris Gelfand looks like an identical twin of Rafa Benitez, head coach of FC Liverpool in the English Premier League?

Did Kramnik say something about Ivanchuk's pink trousers or something!? They're still playing on...

Bravo Vishy!! Off-topic but news is just in that Vishy has refused to play in Germany. He wants a neutral venue. Karsten Henzel (Kramnik's manager) is German and Chessbase (who promote Kramnik a lot more than other top stars and he does DVDs for them, loses to their program, etc.) is German too.

>Bravo Vishy!! ..news is just in that Vishy has refused to play in Germany.>

great news, another reason to thow a party in India

>He wants a neutral venue. Karsten Henzel (Kramnik's manager) is German >

does he want to play Karsten Henzel now ?

>and Chessbase (who promote Kramnik a lot more than other top stars and he does DVDs for them, loses to their program, etc.) is German too.>

a DVD with Anand would be great, I agree

You see, I told you long time ago. Anand starts getting cold feet... He is trying to avoid the match!

<<You see, I told you long time ago. Anand starts getting cold feet... He is trying to avoid the match!

I disagree. He has been consistent all along. Even when he was asked about the Elista scandal, he had clearly mentioned that irrespective of whether or not a guy is cheating, it is the thought that he might be cheating is what is most damaging to his opponent (as happened to Topalov). Maybe Kramnik is a very clean guy and a genuinely trustworthy sportsman. But that is no reason to not have measures in place to ensure that he does not cheat. Although Topalov probably goofed up at Elista and thereafter, I believe that he was genuinely under the impression (albeit wrongly) that Kramnik was cheating. Even if Kramnik does not cheat in Germany, it will do him a lot of good if he can put a doubt in Vishy's mind that he is cheating. It could unnerve Vishy (or any other opponent else) no end..

vishy and vlady should come play in the USA so I can go watch!

Anand go and change your pants.

"Even if Kramnik does not cheat in Germany, it will do him a lot of good if he can put a doubt in Vishy's mind that he is cheating. It could unnerve Vishy (or any other opponent else) no end.."

I doubt Anand would consider the possibility of Kramnik cheating for a second. He's not a paranoid megalomaniac under the kosh of his manipulative manager ;)

I can understand not wanting to play in Germany as Kramnik does seem very comfortable there (certainly if I was Anand I'd give Dortmund a miss!). It shouldn't be in India either, but that still leaves a fair few other countries and there should be enough interest from sponsors.

They're both great players and nice guys, so fingers crossed we get a match!

yes rs, NYC would be great!!

Please don't associate NYC with the USA. Entirely different sub-species.

Has anyone worked out the new ratings? My rough calculations say that Anand shed a couple of rating points in Turkey. Did Kramnik gain enough to capture the No.1 spot?

Anand Nair, please provide a link to a source claiming Anand doesn't want to play in Germany.

"I disagree. He has been consistent all along. Even when he was asked about the Elista scandal, he had clearly mentioned that irrespective of whether or not a guy is cheating, it is the thought that he might be cheating is what is most damaging to his opponent (as happened to Topalov). Maybe Kramnik is a very clean guy and a genuinely trustworthy sportsman. But that is no reason to not have measures in place to ensure that he does not cheat. Although Topalov probably goofed up at Elista and thereafter, I believe that he was genuinely under the impression (albeit wrongly) that Kramnik was cheating. Even if Kramnik does not cheat in Germany, it will do him a lot of good if he can put a doubt in Vishy's mind that he is cheating. It could unnerve Vishy (or any other opponent else) no end.." ---

There is a difference between the cheating measures issue and a host country issue. Cheating (Anand's as well as Kramnik's) will be of concern no matter what the venue. It is not fair to single out Kramnik for potential cheating and it doesn't make sense to say cheating in Germany is more likely than in any other country. Anand may well have reasons to not play in Germany, but greater likelyhood of Kramnik's cheating there is definitely not the reason to rule out Germany.

Sure Vishy has every right to demand a neutral venue, but if Germany is not neutral, what is? Anand plays in Bundesliga a lot. This move does smell a bit of chickening out, but is, of course, totally in line with gamesmanship that was going on in title match negotiations way before Anand was born.

http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1509

This link says nothing about Anand's refusal to play in Germany though.

and.. susanpolgar.blogspot.com
I think its a fair enough demand. I do not see any reason why the match should take place in Kramnik's manager's home country.

Anand's refusal is more explicit on Susan's website...I don't know where she got the news from, but it does not surprise me one bit.

IMO the most obvious reason to play the match in Germany is that it seems as it was agreed beforehand and that the sponsor is German group. Same reason really why a Mexican championship was played in Mexico and not in Iceland, for example.

The argument that it's not a neutral venue because Henzel is German is weak. Similarly Mexico was not a neutral venue because Anand speaks Spanish.

It may be me, but I can't find a decent listing of who is actually playing in the final this Blitz Event. I see the preliminary standings on http://www.russiachess.org/ but no info on the invitees. I'm presuming Kramnik, Anand, Grischuk Svidler but does anyone have a definitive list before I tear my hair out?

It was not very smart of Kramnik to "announce," a few weeks ago, that the match would be in Germany. That was just asking Anand to raise a fuss.

Let's make a list of no-no countries for the match: Russia, India, France, Germany, Bulgaria. Have I missed any?

>>Let's make a list of no-no countries for the match: Russia, India, France, Germany, Bulgaria. Have I missed any?

Why France??

Good that you mentioned Bulgaria though. Would Kramnik and his team ever agree to play Vishy in 'Danialovland' Bulgaria? For similar reasons, it is perfectly understandable Vishy not wanting to play in Germany.

To greg koster, it might actually have been a preemptive strike by Kramnik to shift the focus to Anand. Now should something go wrong with the match, Anand will be seen as the one to blame.

Spain obviously...

Susan's website reports two problems with the match:
--will Anand have draw odds?
--where will the match be played?

One would have thought that Carsten Hensel would have reached an understanding with FIDE on at least the first of these points before Kramnik agreed to play in Mexico.

Anand shouldn't play the match at all. Kramnik should see how it felt for Kasparov when he did the same to him.

In addition to the countries listed by greg...

France is out because Kramnik's wife lives there.
Spain is out because Anand lives there.
South and Central America are out because Anand speaks Spanish.
Asia is out because Anand knows people who competed in Asian cups.
Africa is out because Kramnik's granduncle's ex-step sister's myspace site has a picture of a zebra.
And so on....

Anand Nair,

Kramnik lives in France.

"Good that you mentioned Bulgaria though. Would Kramnik and his team ever agree to play Vishy in 'Danialovland' Bulgaria? For similar reasons, it is perfectly understandable Vishy not wanting to play in Germany." - No, it is not the same. Henzel didn't do anything to Anand that would even remotely approach what Danailov (and Topalov)had done to Kramnik. Besides, it is not obvious to me that Kramnik would not play Anand in Bulgaria. Playing Topalov in Bulgaria would be a different story, but I can imagine Kramnik agreeing to play Anand in Bulgaria.

In any case, the whole Germany thing may end up not being a huge deal. I can imagine Anand agreeing to play there, as it would be rather stupid to refuse to play there and decline a huge payday.

Don't forget the countries of all the seconds and any addtional ones that they may have visited at one time or another. Well I guess that just leaves neutral Sweden, which is alright...nice looking women.

Does FIDE use decimals for deciding ratings? If so, according to a poster on chessgames.com, Anand is at 2799.3 and Kramnik at 2798.5 after the Tal Memorial.

In my own view, just like we say Kasparov was #1 for 20 years, we should treat Anand / Kramnik as joint #1's on the next rating list unless decimals are used.

By the way, what were the decimals when Kasparov and Kramnik were tied? Cant be too difficult to calculate.

@Russianbear, et al..

Maybe Kramnik is clean and did absolutely no wrong in Elista. But, to those of us (Vishy included) who do not know the true story, there is a non-zero probability that part or all of what Topalov and Danialov alleged has some base. And, we (again, Vishy included) don't need to know if Kramnik is the cleanest guy or not. All that chess fans and players would want is that all measures be taken to ensure that the match is held in the fairest of venues where no one player even has the slightest doubt that something is fishy.

It should be held in Iceland with Bobby as arbiter
(no other Jews allowed of course)

If you don't know the "true story" by now, perhaps you don't want to.

I find the term "fishy" interesting, while including "Vishy" in the same context.

Amos wrote: "Anand shouldn't play the match at all. Kramnik should see how it felt for Kasparov when he did the same to him."

Have you ever lost a chess game?

Compare:

"How did it feel, Garry, when Kramnik forced you to resign?"

"How did it feel, Vlady, when Anand forced Grischuk to resign?"

C'mon. There's only one way for Anand to provide Kramnik with the opportunity to feel what Kasparov felt and still feels.

Anand Nair,

If Danailov and Topalov reported that you wear ladies underwear, there would be a non-zero probability of it's being true.

A small part of my consciousness would thereafter hope that you would never get into a traffic accident; would never have an embarrassing moment at the hospital.

The anti-cheating measures at Elista, nominally imposed to protect the integrity of the game, were actually requested because of the suspicions that followed Topalov after San Luis.

Neither Anand nor Kramnik will request anti-cheating measures, but perhaps FIDE will impose them for its own reasons.

There is a close relationship between Kramnik's manager , Dortmund and UEP. Just google for Universal Events promotion. Anand is perfectly justified in asking for neutral venue.

http://www.uep-chess.com/english/Welcome.html

"There is a close relationship between Kramnik's manager , Dortmund and UEP. Just google for Universal Events promotion. Anand is perfectly justified in asking for neutral venue."

When I watched Dortmund 1995 live there, Hensel was the tournament's spokesman or press officer. I believe the director of UEP was responsible then of the technical department. Nevertheless, UEP has bought the rights to stage the event. If FIDE wanted sth neutral, they were as clever as ever.

"Maybe Kramnik is clean and did absolutely no wrong in Elista. But, to those of us (Vishy included) who do not know the true story, there is a non-zero probability that part or all of what Topalov and Danialov alleged has some base. And, we (again, Vishy included) don't need to know if Kramnik is the cleanest guy or not. All that chess fans and players would want is that all measures be taken to ensure that the match is held in the fairest of venues where no one player even has the slightest doubt that something is fishy." - I hope you do realize the opposite, too. Maybe Anand is clean and has never cheated. But, to those of us who do not know the true story, there is a non-zero probability that he maybe have been cheating at various stages of his career, including Mexico.

So, UEP has bought the rights to stage the event? Interesting. Sounds like Anand will have to play wherever they will choose. If not, they should just forfeit him. His Mexico "championship" was a sham, anyway.

"The argument that it's not a neutral venue because Henzel is German is weak. Similarly Mexico was not a neutral venue because Anand speaks Spanish."

Indeed, it opens up a whole can of worms. Before, all you needed to do was consider the respective home countries of the two players participating in the Match. For nationalistic reasons, I can understand why a player might not feel comfortable playing in the home country of his opponent. For instance, given the strong level of support which the Bulgarian government has provided Topalov, or the Chinese government has provided its players, I can understand why it would be problematic for a player to be foist into that mileau.

However, if you include a "degree of separation", any rational cause for concern disappears. The German government has no reason to intervene, or attempt to play dirty tricks in an effort to assist Kramnik, or impede Anand. It isn't even clear that Kramnik would enjoy the popular support of the spectators, as compared to Anand.

Where will this end? Can't play in the home country of one of your opponent's seconds? What about the Home Country of players' wives? What if you have 2nd house in a country?

FIDE has rules for this scenario, presumeably. If Anand doesn't want to play, FIDE ought not hesitate to strip him of the Title. I see no harm in letting Anand try to find sponsorship for an alternate venue. However, it is wrong to let him exercise a "malicious veto", the main purpose of which is to force the cancellation of the match.

> Interesting. Sounds like Anand will have to play wherever they will choose. If not, they should just forfeit him. >

Give Anand a break. He just want to feel like "I am the champ" for a while.

If he were not to make a fuss a bit, some opposition and demands, nobody would care of him. he would feel like a woman who would go to bed without first saying few times "NO", i.e., it would be as if she has no worth, no value.

This circus is understandable at this point and Anand will come around neatly after more attention is given to him. He wants more consideration.

Oh, how I would love seeing Anand play Kramnik in Sweden!

The only problem with that is of course that absolutely noone here knows anything about the game and couldn't give a dime about it. Except for me, of course.

Susan's website reports two problems with the match:
--will Anand have draw odds?

Why should Anand have Draw Odds? In the Topalov--Kramnik match in Elista, the Championship was decided by Rapid Chess Tie-Breaks. If necessary, the Title would have been decided by a single "Armegeddon" Blitz Game (where one player or the other would have had the "Draw Odds" but as a result of a Coin Flip).

But agreeing to play the Match under such rules, both Kramnik and Topalov ceded any "rights" which they might have had to "Draw Odds". Having ceded them, Kramnik did not get those rights back when he beat Topalov. In fact, he didn't even earn the right to defend his Title via a Match (all he was able to get was a Re-Match clause, against the winner of Mexico City--which turned out to be Anand).

It's hard to justify how Anand might have earned the right to Draw Odds in a Championship Match title defense, when he won his Title from a Championship tournament format.

Of course, in order to cut the "Gordian Knot", maybe FIDE should tell Anand that he will indeed be given (the option of choosing) "Draw Odds" in an Armegeddon Blitz game, rather than have the right to select the Draw Odds be determined by Coin Flip.

That would provide Anand, as Champion, with little more than a merely symbolic advantage, which would hinge on his ability to draw a Blitz game vs. Kramnik--while playing Black, and with less time. Of course, the chances are very low that the match would ever reach the final Armegeddon game.

"Give Anand a break. He just want to feel like "I am the champ" for a while.

If he were not to make a fuss a bit, some opposition and demands, nobody would care of him. he would feel like a woman who would go to bed without first saying few times "NO", i.e., it would be as if she has no worth, no value.

This circus is understandable at this point and Anand will come around neatly after more attention is given to him. He wants more consideration."
==================================
It's too late for that, really. By playing in Mexico City, he agreed to be FIDE's "Bride". His victory in the WC Tournament constituted the "wedding" of Anand to FIDE. Now, after all of the Matrimonial ceremonies it is "The Wedding Night"....and suddenly Anand doesn't want to "consummate the marriage"??

Of course, the Bride has every right to decline, but then one should concede that FIDE has every right to seek an "annulment", forthwith.

Besides, in terms of the politics of Chess Championships, Anand is hardly a "Virgin". He lept into Kasparov's PCA bed in 1995, in order to get a Championship Match. Thereafter, he crawled back to his old flame, FIDE, in order to contest the Knock-Out Championships. When he beat Shirov, he wasn't demanding "draw Odds" for the subsequent championship, either....

Ah, here it is:

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/

"Following are the decisions taken at the 78th FIDE Congress Executive Board meeting - Report by Mr. Bill Kelleher

Olympiad

The 2008 Olympiad will be held in Dresden Germany. FIDE signed a contract with the City of Dresden to hold the Olympiad next year from the November 12th to the 25th. There was some concern about the financing but the Dresden City Council finally approved the necessary funds. There are a number of significant rules changes for next year’s Olympiad:

Both the men’s and women’s teams will consist of 4 players plus one reserve. Currently the men’s team consists of 4 players plus 2 reserves and the women’s team consists of 3 players plus 1 reserve.

The number of rounds will be reduced from 14 to 11.

The scoring will be changed from the current game points to match points.

Anti-Doping

In compliance with new WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) regulations, FIDE will introduce “out of competition” testing in 2008. This decision has the potential to be extremely controversial. Fortunately the testing will be limited to the 80 top-rated men players and the 5 top-rated women. Additionally only 10% of these 85 players will be tested. I do not have the latest rating list in front of me, but I think that no more than 4 or 5 of our players are rated high enough to be tested. FIDE has been sensitive to our concerns about testing in the past so hopefully none of our players will be tested.

Women’s World Championship

The Women’s World Championship will be held in late June 2008 in San Luis, Argentina. Initially it was scheduled for mid-May which would have conflicted with the US Women’s Championship. However the Argentine’s graciously agreed to move the dates for the WWC.

Men’s World Championship

Negotiations are ongoing between Anand and Kramnik for the World Championship match next year. Deputy President of FIDE, Makropoulos briefed the board about the status of negotiations. He said that Anand had put forward number of demands before he would sign a contract to play the match. Makropoulos said that he felt all of Anand’s demands could be accommodated except one. Anand wants to restore the right of the champion to claim victory if the match ends in a tie. Makropoulos said FIDE should oppose this and the Executive Board agreed. However the delegate from India then spoke and said that there was another sticking point not mentioned by Deputy President: Anand is insisting that the match be played at a “neutral venue.” The Executive Board did not discuss this issue because of the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations.

And it is clear why. This is a trickier issue than it seems. Prior to the World Championship tournament in Mexico City, FIDE had signed a contract with a German company, Universal Events Productions (UEP), to sponsor the 2008 World Championship Match. It was agreed that this match would be played in Germany. It appears that Anand does not regard Germany as a “neutral venue” because Kramnik’s manager, Karsten Henzel, is a German citizen and has close relations with UEP. Also there are rumors that UEP gave Kramnik “extra inducements” to play the match in Germany. This issue is a potential showstopper.

By Bill Kelleher"

In general, I like the reforms that they made with the Olympiad.

1) I might have preferred to see the Olympiad remain 14 Rounds in length, but it seems as if the last 2 or 3 rounds were not useful in terms of helping to determine who the best teams were. By round 12, the Top teams have usually already all played each other; the last several rounds are anticlimactic, in that the leading teams face "pair-downs". This tended to randomize the final results a bit--especially when game points were the main criteria for Placement.

Since FIDE is also changing the scoring system to have it based on Match Points, there was less of an imperative to reduce the number of rounds. Oh, well.

This was obviously done at the behest of the organizers, to save money

2) I never saw the point in having two reserves
Olympiad. Now that they have reduced the length of the event to just 11 rounds, there is even less reason for 2 reserves. Now, if they share the games, the 4 players and Reserve will each get at least 2 rest days. It is also good to have the Women;s teams be the same size and configuration as the Men's. Having 4 players compete each round yields more reliable results.

Moreover, the individual Federations will not face additional expense, since the Extra (5th) Women on the Women's Teams will be offset by the cutting of the 2nd Reserve player on the Men's team.

3) The decision to switch the scoring system from the aggregation of individual Game Points to the Teams' Match Points makes eminent sense, and is a reform long overdue.

If we want to hold to the conceit that these Team Chess Competitions are indeed about the performance of Chess Teams, then it makes little sense focus on the individual game results. This simplifies things: a Team gets 2 points for winning a Match, 1 Point for Drawing a Match, and no points for a loss.

Just like in football. After all, it would be absurd in World Cup competition to determine the Champion on the basis of how many goals were scored by members of a particular squad, throughout the event. The aim is to score more goals than the opponent in EACH match, rather than in the event as a whole.

Make no mistake about it: This reform was made in response to the Silver Medal earned by the Chinese Men in the 2006 Olympiad. They lost several matches, but were able to make up ground with 4-0 whitewashes. While the Chinese men are rapidly improving, objectively speaking, they probably did not comprise the 2nd best team of players in the World, for that particular Olympiad. The European countries are doing what they can to prevent that "anomaly" from happening again.

======================================
The 2008 Olympiad will be held in Dresden Germany. FIDE signed a contract with the City of Dresden to hold the Olympiad next year from the November 12th to the 25th. There was some concern about the financing but the Dresden City Council finally approved the necessary funds. There are a number of significant rules changes for next year’s Olympiad:

Both the men’s and women’s teams will consist of 4 players plus one reserve. Currently the men’s team consists of 4 players plus 2 reserves and the women’s team consists of 3 players plus 1 reserve.

The number of rounds will be reduced from 14 to 11.

The scoring will be changed from the current game points to match points.

> Prior to the World Championship tournament in Mexico City, FIDE had signed a contract with a German company, Universal Events Productions (UEP), to sponsor the 2008 World Championship Match. It was agreed that this match would be played in Germany.>

LOL..LOL...Mexico-2007 repeats itself : FIDE signs contracts which WChs have to honour later ...now Anand is where Kramnik was in the months after Elista.

>Mexico-2007 repeats itself

I wish it would. But then, as current world champion, Anand would have to call for a return to WCh tournament system and that he was seeded directly into the next one taking place even after a defeat against Kramnik...

It would be a truly spectacular piece of hypocrisy on Anand's part to demand draw odds. I do hope that report isn't true. I've always had a lot of time for Anand, but if it is true I'll have a lot less.

1) Anand does not want to play in Germany.

> Fair enough and should not be a problem.

2) Anand wants draw odds.

> Excuse me? Didn't Kramnik just give up draw odds in his match with Topalov? And now Anand wants them back?
So much for being mister nice guy.

I wonder what they think at Anand´s German club if he doesn´t want to play in Germany.

Clearly Anand is miffed because Kramnik's rematch and Topalov's seeding have been announced after negotiations with FIDE. From posts on chessgames.com, I came across this link which appears to indicate that prior to the WC match both Kramnik and Topalov agreed to play the World Cup if they lost in Mexico.

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3051

"An important point is that the winner of the Topalov-Kramnik match will play in the next FIDE World Championship, which will be held in Mexico City. The loser, even if it is the current title holder Topalov, will have to start from scratch and play in the World Cup. Classical chess world champion Kramnik will play in the next "Tournament of Eight" in Mexico if he wins the match against Topalov. If he loses he will have to play in the World Cup. These conditions have been agreed in the contract and signed by both participants of the Elista match. "

Even well after the Elista match, this was FIDE's plan:

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3556

"How will you reconcile this plan with the current situation? With the double-round tournament of eight in Mexico, and the candidates matches in Elista?

Ilyunzhinov: This is very easy. From 26 May until 14 June in Elista, the candidates matches will take place. From 12th September to 1st October, the World Championship will take place in Mexico. It will be run on the same system as at San Luis: eight players, double round robin. In November-December, in Khanty-Mansysk, the World Cup will be played, which will find the challenger. Then in 2008, this challenger will play a match for the world championship (probably over 12 games) against the world champion, named on 1 October in Mexico."

However subsequent to these announcements, there were negotiations between FIDE and Kramnik / Topalov's managers [the poster on chessgames.com calls these shady backroom dealings], which resulted in Kramnik getting the rematch and Topalov the seeding into the next cycle.

I think all this talk of draw odds and venue may be Anand's way of getting a rematch. I dont really grudge him that given Topalov and kramnik are getting it - although it would have been far better if none of the three had it. If one were to rate the rematch "deservedness", Kramnik probably has the strongest case, then Anand and finally Topalov.

Also, can someone throw some light on how close UEP is to Kramnik? I interpret Anand's concerns not as an indictment of Germany, but more as an indictment of the organizer.

I know it's a question of principle, but quite frankly, Kramnik won't need draw odds.

I can see Anand's cause for concern; it is reasonable to assume it is in UEP's interest for Kramnik to win the WC match, considering their ties with Kramnik's manager.

There is a perceived conflict of interest (regardless of the truth) for them to provide a neuteral playing conditions.

Their are numerous ways in which they could possibly influence the result of the match. For example they could stuff around with Anand's travel, accomodation or transport arrangements. Use billing that inferr's Kramnik is the "real" champion e.g. Kramnik (Undefeated Classical Match World Champion) vs Anand (FIDE World Champion). All these could upset Anand before the match.

"I think all this talk of draw odds and venue may be Anand's way of getting a rematch. I dont really grudge him that given Topalov and kramnik are getting it - although it would have been far better if none of the three had it. If one were to rate the rematch "deservedness", Kramnik probably has the strongest case, then Anand and finally Topalov."

Kramnik deserved the "re-match" (or more accurately, 2nd Chance Match) concession a lot more than Anand deserves it. Remember that Kramnik won the World Championship Unification match over Topalov, having staked *his* "Classical" title, which he had earned by defeating Kasparov in 2000.
In gambling, when you put something at risk, and then you win, you are supposed to get the amount of the wager back, and then the prize on top of it.
Yet, for his victory, FIDE wanted Kramnik to cede control of the now Unified Title back to it.

Kramnik was obviously amenable to some kind of arrangement. The "Classical title", while valuable, was also a burden. Still, if FIDE was not willing to make some compromise in revising the arrangements, or they tried to slap Kramnik around with a contract, then Kramnik might very well have walked, renewing the schism in the Chess World, with talk of a disputed title.

In other words, Kramnik had a lot of leverage following Elista, while Anand has rather little.

So, Anand doesn't want to play this match with Kramnik? Too bad, so sad...

So, since FIDE now controls the Title, there is not much chance of Anand causing a meaningful schism. He doesn't want to play? Then the Title will revert to the player who finished 2nd in the Mexico City Tournament (Wasn't that Kramnik?;-)
Or FIDE could simply declare Kramnik winner of the match by default, if Anand fails to show up to Germany to play.

Kramnik earned his title by beating Kasparov in a match of length; Anand earned his title in what in essence was a High Category tournament, not too dissimilar to other elite events, in which he defeated the likes of Morozevich, Grischuk, Svidler, and Aronian.

Not too many folks outside India will be willling to abide Anand simply walking out the door with the World Champion's Title. If he wants to, he can consult Ponomariov about that....

A possible scenario?: Soon enough, the winner of the World Cup winner vs. Topalov match would be known, and FIDE would simply give Kramnik the match against that person, and then likely move on to their next cycle.

The irony is that FIDE is in a relatively strong bargaining position becaue they know that the FIDE World Champion's Title, determined as it is by Round Robin events or World Cup tournaments, simply is that prestigious, nor as valuable as before.

Indeed, FIDE seems to have done this (i.e. cheapen the Title) according to plan, so that future Champions will not have the leverage that Kramnik (or Kasparov) enjoyed.

If it weren't for the fact that the Chess World would miss out on the most anticipated of marquee match-ups, it would be interesting to see Anand try out his gambit, and find out what happens.

As for Topalov? Well, Thanks to FIDE--through Azmaiparishvili-- he received something far more generous and beneficial than mere Draw Odds. He received a Free Point, right in the middle of the match. Plus the seeding to player the Winner of the World Cup. More than enough, in my book.

Kramnik is not getting a rematch. He is getting a match against the winner of the tournament championship.

If Kramnik was asking that they play the Mexico 2007 tournament then yes he would be asking for a "re"____. That would be ridiculous.

But neither his request for a match against the winner of of the Mexico tournament nor FIDE's agreement to give him one was unreasonable. There was nothing underhanded in this. FIDE had a good sponsor in Mexico that they did not want to tick off (by calling it a qualifier) Kramnik had a title that was never lost in a tournament before.

@trm

It was Topalov who gave up draw odds in Elista, not Kramnik. Anand knows that Kramnik wants this match badly so he takes advantage of it...

Don't you just love the symbiotic relationship that chess has with paranoia? It's so beneficial to the game. I wonder how the NFL in my country gets all those games played every week with all the alarmist mentality of the general public, players and owners. Just incredible.

Oops I meant to say: If Kramnik asked for them to *replay* the 2007 mexico tournament then that would be asking for a "re____"

Rasi,

Anand tries to take advantage of his new position, but as people already noted he doesn't have much leverage in these negotiations. Kramnik has "legal" rights to this match (if this word means something when FIDE is involved), willingness to play AND crucially he has sponsors for it and FIDE support (who certainly want their 20% slice of the money pie). If Anand is too stubborn, he will be simply replaced by the winner of Topalov v World Cup winner match.

Anand of course is not dumb, so IMO that's all just a ploy to force as many concessions as possible, maybe force the organizers to fork some extra cash to "persuade" him to play in Germany, maybe get some benefits from FIDE (direct seeding somewhere, kinda Topalovian deal). In any case if Anand is daft enough to walk away from the match, there will be many people willing to take his place.

I certainly hope that we will see Kramnik-Anand as these 2 are the strongest players now, but if that fails, Kramnik-Topa would do as well.

Anand and all the participants of Mexico where NOT asked when rules changed to grant a (re)-match of Kramnik (and also direct seeding for Topalov).

Kramnik had ACCEPTED BEFORE Elista that the winner will play in Mexico as a normal candidate with the same status with all others (therefore with NO match guranteed after).

Anand is therefore not obliged to play Kramnik.

osbender said:

"he has legal rights, willigness and funding"

Well, what about Topalov's offer for re-match with Kramnik on March. He had funding, he had willigness AND he had legal rights. The rules of FIDE, where clear about the champion having to accept any offer from a 2700+ player that had guranteed funding.

As for the drawing rigths...

At Elista match it was Kramnik that needed the match (remember that he could not find sponsors to held championship match, and his rating had decreased a lot and the status of his title was dropping).

Therefore he could not have asked for drawing rights. Earlier, when he could (against Leko) not only he did ask them, but he also used them. In case you forgot, he retained the title by drawing with Leko (note also, that the pressure for Leko would be much less in the last game if he knew that in the worst case he still has tie-breaks...).

So I think Anand is allowed to play his cards properly. I do believe that at the end, after he gets what he can, he will go back and play.

BUT the moral of the last years, is that if you do make a lot of noise, eventually you get extra rights... So he just do what is needed to guarantee that he is not the "nice guy" that has less rights from the "nasty guys".

nitpicking:
"drawn all eight of his games"
nine?

If you look at the final resultsboard of Mexico and cut them in four quadrants a very strange thing becomes apparent. The gang of four Anand Kramnik Leko Gelfand drew all their games except forKramnik thrashing Leko. That is the new world champiom is incapable of beating Leko Kramnik Gelfand and of course Topalov and Ivanchuk werent even present.They only beat up on the four hapless whipping boys who were present so they would have someone to beat. They for their part did fight amongst themselves as can be seen in their quadrant.

Kramnik for his part never beat Leko at the world championship in Brissago they drew. One would expect a world champion to beat the next half dozen challengers.
So Kramnik never beat Leko at least at that time and Anandnever beat anybody in a match of the top six or so. Some world champions.
As far as Elista cables were found in the closet walls ceilings Why???? WHY? If Kramnik was so ill that he had to go to the can fifty times in a couple of hours and more thena minute each time they should have played the match in his hospital room with a catheter running.
The whole thing stinks royally.
Even if there were no electronic cheating or secret code messages that was another one I believe in that case Topalovs manager was suspected:the quadrant method of analyis which I have invented and have never seen anywhere and would be impossible in a Russian site as they display the cross table not according to rank but random so you wont see this blatant outrage the favoured players just play sham draws against each other and may attempt real chess games only against either weaker players or those who were ordered to lose to the top Russian which of course made Bobby Fischerpsychotic as he saw it but no one else accepted what was staring them in the face.
This has been pretty much admitted with respect to Keres Botvinnik and anybody else and Botvinnik on orders of Stalin. Smyslov might have played real games with him but the others especially Keres had to throw their games.
It is obvous to me at least if there is no foreplanned collusion and a total fix there is at least gentlemanly grandmaster draws between Kramnik Leko Anand Gelfand. Do you seriously believe that on a good day any one of them cant come up with some annoying novelty beat any of the others. Thatall 11 of their games would be drawn in a world championship???
I dont.
The notion of drug test is ludicrous, mathematical analysis should be made of not just total wins losses draws but of groups of players
and statistical and probabilistic study of openings repetitions set games null efforts.
In chess drugs wont help but cheating by other means might.
It seems the most popular sport in the world is not football or chess but cheating fixing matches throwing games sham contests.

"Well, what about Topalov's offer for re-match with Kramnik on March. He had funding, he had willigness AND he had legal rights. The rules of FIDE, where clear about the champion having to accept any offer from a 2700+ player that had guranteed funding."

No, he did NOT have any legal rights to a match starting in March - the rules stated the exact opposite.

But I have the feeling that you belong to the bunch who don't care if facts happen to get in the way of your agenda, so I won't waste my time demonstrating this when it was done so many times back then anyway.

Sakkmatt,

Quite a fun rant, but remember that players tend to be in the top of the crosstable because they don't lose games. It's not a question of getting there and then drawing with your fellow table-toppers (though of course the better the player the happier you are with a draw against them!). Kramnik came pretty close to beating Anand in Mexico.

Kramnik didn't beat Leko overall, but there were individual wins for both players - you seemed to be implying there were 12 draws.

As for mentioning the cables in Elista - the internet troll detector lights are flashing. For old time's sake - all modern buildings have cables in the ceiling - how does it help Kramnik if there are cables in the ceiling of a toilet used by both players on alternate days?? He whips out his carefully concealed laptop, climbs on the toilet seat, opens the ceiling panel, performs some DIY to connect the cable to his PC, then leaves the cable as it was, closes up the ceiling, gets down and leaves... and repeats this 50 times (it's great how Danailov's made-up figures are always repeated)? Not to mention the fact that if you have a computer in your toilet you don't need the internet...

Yeah I know, I fell for the bait ;)

"FIDE signs contracts which the players have to honour later"
Of course, what is wrong with that? If we have a system where the players arrange everything we end up with players getting title shots simply because they have friends in high places, a system only narrowly averted before Mexico. Whatever you think of FIDE they have to make the decisions. Can you imagine if France or England decided they will not play the (football) World Cup because they don't fancy going to Brazil?

acirce:

If you noticed the part you quote from my two posts, is not of vital importance for the arguments I was making. From the rest where did I give you the impression I don't argue properly?

My position is that both Kramnik and (even more) Topalov have gained advantages relatively to other people by being difficult and making noise (and using all possible legal means and ambiguities in interpretations of laws). Using also the fact that since they are good players the title would lose legitimacy to the eyes of some people if they are excluded.

Anand on the other hand historically, was mr. nice guy and he constantly got worse deals (in next post I illustrate this). Now, I personally think that he decided to pretend to be difficult in order to get some extra rights...

About Anand in the past:

He participated in both circles (Kasparov/FIDE), as all players (including Kramnik) did. He deservly qualified and lost to Kasparov (95).

Later, he participated in the knock-out tournament that Karpov was waiting for the exhausted winner (another champion getting many benefits from being difficult).

He refused to play against Kramnik in order to qualify to play with Kasparov (and Shirov played and won), in order to honor his word to FIDE that he was vice-champion (98).

When he won the knock-out he properly put it in line the next year and lost in the semi-final to Ivanchuk (Ponomariov winner).

Therefore he has never caused problems. Always participated in cycles. At least once, honoring his word (to FIDE) lost a golden oportunity to have a second match against Kasparov (in 98 Anand was in his best). He suffered form champions requiring benefits (Karpov, and now Kramnik, Topalov).

After this analysis, is obvious to him (from his experiences) that he should be difficult now that he actually has the ability to do it ...

And I still believe that he will eventually play the match.

You guys really take yourselves seriously? Most of you don't know either player, yet you make these statements about their character, or lack of. Come on. Get over yourselves!

About whether Topalov had legal rights to play the match in March:

FIDE rules stated that any player above 2700 can challenge the champion if they have minimum 500,000$ prize. If they had guaranteed 1 million, the champion HAD to accept.

There was only one way out, to say that he didn't have the legal right. The match should have finished 6 months before the sceduled Mexico championship.

Topalov's initial offer (which was delayed due to the strange fact that the bank that provided initially the financial guarantee, was not accepted) was going to finish later. BUT along this he had an alternative days within the time they required.

The truth was, that there was no time to actually organize the match, have the negotioations. On top of this Kramnik (and Topalov) would have to withdraw from Linares.

Technically, it wasn't specified what happens if the champion had something scheduled in the days... For example could, (in principle), the champion could avoid playing by participating to other tournaments?

Also, what was the required period from the offer till the days of the match was also not specified (e.g. it couldn't obviously be 2 hours:-)).

The conclusion is that there was at least some legal ambiguity (I would say thast he had the right, but this is for lawyers to judge while I am physicst:-)).

To make the comparison with the right of Kramnik... Anand or any of the other 6 (-Kramnik) people, when they signed the contracts to play in Mexico, they DID not sign anything about a match with Kramnik ... Kramnik on the other hand, before playing in Mexico, despite the fact that he was bound by Elista contract to play, he got a new contract guranteing a match if he lose the title.

SO here also there is some legal ambiguity, resembling (not identical) with Topalov's case on March.

I actually agree with derida except the point that "he has the ability to do it (be difficult) now". He certainly can try to get some extra benefits, but I doubt he would get much because his current title holds little value. The plight of Pono should teach him something. Now, if he wins the match against Kramnik, that would be entirely different cattle of fish and FIDE wouldn't be able just to ignore his demands.

The thing is that Kramnik got his benefits because he was in the position of strength after winning against Kaspy and Topa. He wouldn't get them BEFORE the match with Topa and he didn't even try for them, being a realist that he is. I suspect, Topa simply bought his benefits (or Danailov bought them). Anand trying to get some benefits now, when his position as a champion is shaky and he doesn't bring money to the table seems like a miscalculation on his part. All that does is tarnishes his reputation (since his 2 major demands are unreasonable and will be seen as such by the majority). It also undermines his bargaining position as he will look like a coward running away from match that everybody is dying to see.

from fide website:
"The winner of the Grand Prix series at the end of 2009 will play the winner of the World Cup 2009 in an eight game match to become the challenger to the World Champion in a match to be held in the third quarter of 2010."

WHAT???

As far as I can see, all grand prix will be invitational....here we go again...

from the links I provided above, it appears the main reason Kramnik got a second shot is because Carsten Hensel brought UEP who guaranteed a match with a nice 20% for FIDE. Similarly Topalov got seeding because Danailov brought some money in (and greased some palms).

it has nothing to do with legitimacy of their positions. i guess radjabov can get a match if he brings money. Hey! I could get a match if I bring some money and the 20% for FIDE. it really is a sad indictment of FIDE that it functions in this way.

On a side note, it is funny the wheel has come a full circle. Anand abided by FIDE and they abandoned him in Prague. At that time Kramnik was the outsider. Now Kramnik is pinning his hopes on FIDE while Anand is the outsider. If I were Kramnik, I'd work with Anand directly than go through FIDE, given the latter's track record.

It is no surprise that Anand distrusts FIDE. First was the direct seeding for Karpov in 1998. Second was being shut out of prague despite standing by FIDE. Third was the rating mess in April when FIDE tried to artificially prop up Topalov and Fourth has been the Kramnik second shot and the Topalov seeding.

Kramnik will be the new world number one in the next rating list whuch is a big achievement and strengthens his hand. He has stated he would not start any preperation for a match with Anand until Corus is finished which would mean February so problems may come if nothing is signed by then. The difference now is that it is the FIDE title that is at stake and ultimately they will decide not the players. Frankly I doubt there is any question of draw odds for Anand - those days are over - its rapid play tie breaks now. It would not surprise me if an agreement is not reached and Anand is stripped of the title with Kramnik playing Topalov/winner of the world cup. It should be quite possible for Anand to find Indian corporate sponsor(s) but I guess the match would need to be held outside India. Still I have this feeling the match will not take place I remember Anand did not take up his match option with Kasparov for reasons I never understood.

In Kramnik-Topalov, Elista 2006 there was no draw odds because it was the Classical Champion playing against the FIDE Champion ie 'two Champions'. In the forthcoming Anand-Kramnik it will be the (Unified) Champion playing against the Challenger, so of course the draw odds is a relevant demand on Anand's part. And furthermore when one thinks about the championship cycle and how Kramnik and especially Topalov (who the **** is he to get any??!!) got some nice privileges, Anand's demand seems very reasonable. And of course from the traditional point of view: this is the way it has always been!

AAAAAHHHH! FIDE has come up with another way to ruin the world championship! They're even banning draw offers. At least it's at a classical time control. http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1512

I See Dead Pieces has made three very sensible posts. How can FIDE mess this up again again and again.

I'm sure Topalov too will never play under the UEP.

If FIDE has contracted with UEP and Anand will not play under UEP, this mess has only one solution - Kramnik plays Anand outside of FIDE. Kramnik only wants a match against Anand and I am sure with the rupee's (or is it rupiah's?) ascent, getting an Indian company to fork out 1 million or so dollars would not be a problem. Of course, Kramnik will have to forgo the "under the table" payments from UEP (if any) - but I doubt that Kramnik would put that money over the chance to play Anand in a match. The real money bag is the title, and for better or worse, Anand holds it now.

Anand can get his rematch and draw odds. I like Kramnik, but if he cannot beat Anand +1 over a 12-14 game match, he does not deserve the title and should not have put his title on the line in Mexico City.

I don't really mind giving Anand the draw odds. I don't think he is the world champ, but I can live with him getting draw odds because he won the Mexico tournament. Afterall, Botvinnik got draw odds in the Bronstein match after he won the 1948 tournament.

About the quadrant final table analysis, in the case of Mexixo please go and actually look at it. Visually it's absolutely creepy as if four separate events had taken place. The left upper quadrant has only 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 That is 11 draws and one decided game about 9%. The right lower quadrant among the four losers 1 1 1 0 0 and seven D D D D D D D. The right upper quadrant and the left lower quadrant 00000000000 111 and dddddddddddddddddd or 11111111111 000 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD obviously the reciprocal of one another where the gang of four beat up on the four whipping boys.
Now if you look at any of the subsequent cross tables final displays since then while it is true that there is a tendency to be top heavy in all of them with more wins for the top group and fewer losses it is much more random than Mexico where this tendency is blatant.
If one added the number of moves and draws the unevennesss would be even more extreme.
The four horsemen of the Apocalypse would have played more shameful 13 move draws and grandmaster 25 move draws amongst themselves than with the whipping boys or those losers among one another. As previously stated there is only one game Kramnik Leko which breaks the pattern.
That is in other tournaments many more low placed players beat the top winners and more of the top winners win against one another.

A thought. Wouldnt it be fun if they played blinded as to who is the opponent but see the board.
There would be fewer grandmaster draws, maybe not if the moves were all faultless they would figure out they werent playing No 1529 on the world Élő list.

I dont think you have to physically connect to download some Fritz on your blackberry. But that I dont know, I can see however the strange crosstable final result table.
The fact stand Anand didnt beat Kramnik Gelfand Leko in any games as he became world champ.

"It may be me, but I can't find a decent listing of who is actually playing in the final this Blitz Event. I see the preliminary standings on http://www.russiachess.org/ but no info on the invitees. I'm presuming Kramnik, Anand, Grischuk Svidler but does anyone have a definitive list before I tear my hair out?"

Posted by: Mark Crowther at November 19, 2007 13:47
============================================
Mark, finally there is some updated information about the Blitz Final:

http://www.russiachess.org/eng/content/view/52/71/

Grischuk (and Svidler) were finally given a direct seeding into the Finals. It is absurd that FIDE even needed to make the request; the organizers ought to have invited Grischuk as a matter of course, given that he is the defending Blitz Champion.

So now the field for the Finals of the Blitz Championship has been enlarged from 18 to 20 players, comprised of the Following:

Last minute invitees (by virtue of their having finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the 2006 Blitz Championships in Israel):

[2] Grischuk and Svidler

"Wild Cards":[2] Anand and Karpov

Participants from the Tal Memorial Tournament: [10] All ten players are 2700+ rated

and Finally, the Top 6 Finishers from the 11 Double Round Swiss System Qualification event:

They are as follows:

World Blitz Championship-Preliminaries, Moscow 2007

Final standings - round 11

1. Kasimdzhanov 15.0 (2690 Rating--7th Seed)
2. Bacrot 14.5 (2695--5th)
3. Adams 14.5 (2729--1st)
4. Savchenko 14.5 (2583--44th out of 64!)
5. Ponomariov 14.0 (2705--3rd)
6. Dreev 14.0 (2607--36th!; big drop in rating)
=================================
Rublevsky and Korotylev also finished with 14.0 points, but lost out on Tie-Breaks (Median Buchholz score)

Arguably, Boris Savchenko (2583) is the only "Chess Tourist" to play in the Blitz Final. It's good to see that at least one Blitz Specialist will be represented. Dreev pulled things together to qualify.
Maxim Dlugy did well, but was shut out by Bacrot in the last round to finish with 12. Tkachiev finished in 10th, with 13 points

3 of the Top 6 seeds qualified.

In the Blitz Final, 15 out of 20 players will be 2700+....

===============================================

"b) The final tournament is round-robin with 18 participants playing each other with white and black pieces (a double round-robin tournament).

Composition:

10 participants of the Tal Memorial Tournament 2007;

2 wild cards: V. Anand and A. Karpov;

6 players who qualified from the first-phase event.

Venue: GUM, Red Square, 2.

2. Substitutes – to be determined by the Organizers."

------------------------
And Also:

"Attention!
The organizing Committee of the World Blitz championship 2007 decided, at the request of FIDE, to increase the number of participants of the Final Tournament from 18 to 20 by including both the finalists of the 2006 World Blitz Championship in Israel GM A. Grischuk (winner) and GM P. Svidler (2nd place)."

"A thought. Wouldnt it be fun if they played blinded as to who is the opponent but see the board.
There would be fewer grandmaster draws, maybe not if the moves were all faultless they would figure out they werent playing No 1529 on the world Élő list."

Actually, that would be an interesting experiment:
The organizers of a Round Robin could place the players at tables with Laptops, out of sight (or earshot) of the other participants. Then, the players would be paired so that their Laptops became interlinked, and they would play somebody, without knowing the identity of that opponent.
Would there be more draws? Fewer?

"I don't really mind giving Anand the draw odds. I don't think he is the world champ, but I can live with him getting draw odds because he won the Mexico tournament. Afterall, Botvinnik got draw odds in the Bronstein match after he won the 1948 tournament."

Hmmm, appealing to a 60 year old precedent! FIDE-in my opinion, quite correctly--is trying to do away with the Draw Odds advantage for the Champion. So they are bound to follow the same mistake that they made in 1948??

Times have changed: There are no more adjourned games--now, since the advent of Sudden Death time controls, every game is finished in one sitting.
There are now Rapid Chess, Blitz Chess, and even Armegeddon Blitz Tie-Breaks.

Finally, in 1951, the Draw Odds were only applied after 24 "Classical" games had be played.

The impact of Draw Odds would be much more significant if a Match is comprised of just 12-14 games. Thus, the 1948 precedent is a specious comparison. Would granting Draw Odds in a 2 game Mini-Match be OK, too?

From some of my prior posts, I'm obviously rooting for Kramnik (nothing against Anand) in the upcoming World Championship Match. I think that Anand should get Draw Odds as the current champion of Classical Chess. It certainly isn't anything out of the ordinary in this long and rich tradition of the game. I would definately prefer that outcome than having the two "blitz" out crap to determine the winner. I believe it was Kasparov who once stated that "skittles is not chess."

I personally think Vishy might go back on the draw-odds demand if the match is held at a neutral venue (anywhere the Soviet bloc isn't overly influencial).

However, if the match does come apart because of whatever reasons, what it will mean is that the world will not have an 'undisputed' or 'official' world champion. But then whoever dominates the tournament circuit would be widely regarded as the best player of these times. When Kramnik won the match against Kasparov in 2000, he was the undisputed champion. But after Kasparov had him 'sorted out' (most dramatically by beating him at Astana when Kramnik was leading and only needed a draw in the last round) and Kramnik refused a rematch, everyone regarded Kasparov as the best human chess player, until he retired. So instead of looking towards FIDE with hope of a sensible cycle, I'd rather look forward to the Anand-Kramnik advanced chess match and Corus '08. If the match does materialise, it'll be the icing on the cake.

and I'm getting impatient with Mig for not creating a separate thread for this topic..

Anand Nair--

In fairness,don't you think someone should have told Kramnik that his game with Kasparov at Astana was actually a world championship match?

Jakovenko doesn't want to play in the WC blitz
and is replaced by Rublevsky.

As a guy who roots for Kramnik and as a "purist", I don't mind draw odds for Anand too. It's entirely coherent with the previous tradition and if you give draw odds to Anand now, Kramnik will have them once he wins the match. However, this issue is frankly a non-starter.

In Elista rapid tie breaks proved to be perhaps the most interesting part of the match. It was so climatic and the play was awesome. This was one innovation that was unquestionable success. FIDE is not gonna give up such an attraction to appease Anand or anybody else for that matter. Rapid tie breaks are there to stay and that's a good thing. I'm surprised that Anand doesn't realize that.

While rooting for Anand, I do not feel that the draw odds are a fair
and justified demand. They are a throwback to an olden era were
perhaps one had to appease the current title holder in order to get
him to play. Tradition is a great thing, but this is not the
Church. It's better to make sense [now]...

The match will happen. If FIDE managed to chew Kramnik, then they can
certainly do the same with Anand. Love that FIDE, or hate it, but some
order is good in this sport.

D.

"But after Kasparov had him 'sorted out' (most dramatically by beating him at Astana when Kramnik was leading and only needed a draw in the last round) and Kramnik refused a rematch, everyone regarded Kasparov as the best human chess player, until he retired. " - Everyone? By everyone you mean you? I, for one, kept thinking Kramnik would beat Kasparov in a match if he played him - which to me would mean he was still a better player than Kasparov. Also, the best player is really a different argument from the world champion issue - but I definitely considered Kramnik the champion from 2000 to 2007.

But I disagree everyone considered Kasparov the strongest up until the moment he retired. In 2003 and 2004 Kramnik, Leko and Anand were all at a level where it could be claimed they were better than Kasparov. In 2005 they all had a sub-par year, but Topalov emerged as by far the strongest player in the World. Kasparov was definitely a strong player, but there is no need to make it sound like he was dominating right until he retired.

Guys,
All this is BS. What is really important is that the Blitz Championship has 5 World Champions as participants! ;-) Did i miss somebody?

Time rate for the world blitz Ch. Please...
I suppose the Qualy was played st the same time controls, but couldn't find info.
Classic 5 0 ?

4min+2sec from move 1.

Maybe Danailov can offer the Sofia match to Anand .. then Anand can choose between playing Topalov in a match organized by Danailov (he did play a game against Topalov in Bugaria .. which he enjoyed) or playing Kramnik in a match organized by Hensel.

Somehow I have a feeling Anand may be more averse to UEP than Danailov. Danailov, while being a bit cruder is probably a bit more transparent than Hensel and UEP. Kramnik's cronies have a sheen of respectability, but actually scare me a lot more. People like Hensel and Resch have strong economic incentives to prop Kramnik up and beneath this cloak of respectability will stop at nothing to do so.

It really is funny how FIDE is negotiating with its own Champion, Anand on terms while agreeing to the Challenger's every wish.

"Somehow I have a feeling Anand may be more averse to UEP than Danailov. Danailov, while being a bit cruder is probably a bit more transparent than Hensel and UEP. Kramnik's cronies have a sheen of respectability, but actually scare me a lot more. People like Hensel and Resch have strong economic incentives to prop Kramnik up and beneath this cloak of respectability will stop at nothing to do so." - As opposed to Danailov and Topalov's cronies that do not have economic incentives to prop Topalov up?

"It really is funny how FIDE is negotiating with its own Champion, Anand on terms while agreeing to the Challenger's every wish. " - it just goes to show that Anand's championship is somewhat of a formality.

Russianbear - "But I disagree everyone considered Kasparov the strongest up until the moment he retired."

Yes I remember those days and those people were delusional. Anand was winning rapid tournaments left and right, even though people spoke of them as classical chess. Add this to Kasparov wasn't playing much and lost a game to Rublevsky in '04, people started the idiocy of saying Kasparov was not the best player anymore. Then he went on to a Russian Championship and win Linares over Anand, Topalov, etc. proving he was still the best in the world.

1. Russianbear is right that Anand was the best player in 2003 and 2004. Leko, however, has never really been ahead of Anand or Kasparov any year .. so cannot really include Leko. In fact 2003 may have been Leko's worst year as a chessplayer. Kramnik had his worst years from 2003-2005 so he was not even in the mix.

2. 2005 was Topalov's year through and through. Linares, MTEL, San Luis. Enough said.

3. 2006 was Kramnik's year. His performance in the Olympiad, Dortmund and his win over Topalov ensured that. Topalov won Corus and MTEL, but losing the world title to Kramnik clinches it for Kramnik.

4. 2007 is definitely Anand's year. Kramnik too has had a great year and normally it would have been his year, but losing the World Title to Anand

Not everyone considered Kasparov the strongest till his retirement. Like the OJ jury which consisted of two groups - those that thought he did it and idiots, there are two groups considering this issue.

"Maybe Danailov can offer the Sofia match to Anand .. then Anand can choose between playing Topalov in a match organized by Danailov (he did play a game against Topalov in Bugaria .. which he enjoyed) or playing Kramnik in a match organized by Hensel."

I'm beginning to get the feeling that Anand would be more inclined to play a match vs. Topalov in Sofia, Bulgaria (of course, organized by Danailov) than he would be to play a match vs. Kramnik, in Chennai, India (his hometown), organized by whomever Anand selects.

It's not about Karsten Hensel/UEP, nor "neutral venues", nor contractual rights, nor "Draw Odds", nor "respect", nor payback for getting screwed by FIDE.....

It's not even about the money. It's about fear. Anand is afraid to play Kramnik.
Just like he was afraid to play Kasparov again, after the drubbing that he took in the 1995 WC Match.

Doug, that is a ridiculous comment.

It's interesting to watch the Kramnik groupies now train their guns on Anand (whereas they never did so before), in addition to Kasparov and Topalov previously.

Simple FACT: Kramnik agreed to the Unified Title being put on the line at Mexico as part of the contract signing up for the match with Topalov.
Simple FACT: He did this WITHOUT CONDITIONS!! Have you Kramnik worshipers GOT THIS YET??
Simple FACT: Kramnik LATER (note LATER means LATER) extracted the condition of his playing the Mexico winner if it was not him. This was entirely ILLEGITIMATE and broke the original terms of the contract, AND ALSO BROKE THE TERMS ON WHICH ANAND SIGNED UP FOR TO PLAY IN MEXICO.
This match is as ILLEGITIMATE as FIDE stopping the first Kasparov-Karpov match in 1985 as soon as Kasparov won a couple of games. (In fact FIDE have broken their own rules and contracts so many times that they themselves should be considered illegitimate and broken up and replaced.)

Anand said BEFORE the tournament started that the winner of Mexico shouldn't have to play this match.
Anand is completely within his rights to complain about having to play this ILLEGITIMATE match. He should not have to play it.
Kramnik should have had to QUALIFY for this match. (Jeez, when has Kramnik ever had to qualify for anything? - though very insistent on others doing so.)

If Kramnik did not like the idea of the Unified Title being on the line at Mexico, then he should not have signed up to the Topalov match in the first place. Having done so, he should have kept to what he originally signed to, not blackmail an ILLEGITIMATE condition afterwards.

In this argument between Anand and Kramnik, the fault is entirely on Kramnik's side.

Kramnik just gave Anand a good blitz beating. A taster of their world championship battle, surely.

Chris B has convinced me! Nonsence and ignorance can always be disregarded, but if you SHOUT, I'm sold.

"Kramnik just gave Anand a good blitz beating."

Congratulations to Kramnik, the new World Champion!

The blitz event offers great occasion for 'who-beats-whom' silliness. Kramnik beats Anand, Dreev beats Kramnik, Karpov beats Dreev, Ivanchuk beats Karpov, Mamedyarov beats Ivanchuk, Adams beats Mamedyarov, Savchenko beats Adams and there you have it. Savchenko is strongest.

"Yes I remember those days and those people were delusional. Anand was winning rapid tournaments left and right, even though people spoke of them as classical chess. Add this to Kasparov wasn't playing much and lost a game to Rublevsky in '04, people started the idiocy of saying Kasparov was not the best player anymore. Then he went on to a Russian Championship and win Linares over Anand, Topalov, etc. proving he was still the best in the world." - I think it was more of an idiocy to claim Kasparov was still the best in 2003-2004. Leko finished ahead of Kasparov in Linares 2003 and was equal with him on points (with more wins) in Linares 2004. Kramnik finished ahead of Kasparov in both of those tournaments. So it was not like Kasparov has proved his superiority over those guys in 2003-2004. If anything, Leko and Kramnik proved they were superior at the time.

As for 2005, I remember it differently. I remember Topalov finishing tied for 1st place, and given that he beat Kasparov head-to-head, he was without a doubt a moral winner of the event, if there was one, so Kasparov has hardly proven his superiority in 2005, either.

Looks like Ivanchuk has been dominating the blitz event.

According to http://www.russiachess.org/games/blitz.htm
Grischuk is leading.

Well, Ivanchuk beat Grishuk in their game and is leading by half point after first day.

>> "Kramnik just gave Anand a good blitz beating" ??
>> Congratulations to Kramnik, the new World Champion!

Well, this is what Kramnik fans have been reduced to. They will keep rejoicing at such games and dream of a Kramnik-return which will never happen. Kramnik was hiding with the crown for all these years (2000-2004). It takes time to accept the truth but slowly and surely it will be dawned on Kramnik that his time has come and gone!

If Kramnik does not win the return match, then there will not be enough people on this planet to believe that in future, he can come through for a challenger match by crossing the hurdles of a knock-out tournament or round-robin tournaments that might include Anand and Topa (also keeping in mind that the likes of Aronian, Radja, Mamedyarov and Carlsen are improving with each year!)

So once again, Kramnik fans, you can go and have a party after that blitz game because in near future, this is all you will be left with to rejoice.

Well thanks to Kramnik's interview we know a bit more "I have signed the contract and sent it off. I know that Anand is having discussions with FIDE." That sound like Kramnik was sent a contract by FIDE and was happy with it but Anand isnt. Again it suggests that the contract did not contain any draw odds which seems obvious I thought that idea was dead and buried and any way it is never going to fly with FIDE. If Anand persists in holding out for draw odds he will just forfeit the title which is a shame but the world championship system will continue regardless and Kramnik will just play a match with the contender who emerges under this system. Thats because FIDE have got back control of the WCC. Sure Anand can discuss venue if he can come up with the bank guarantees for significantly more money in a neutral country (not India!) Although the objection to Germany is absurd - it is a neutral country with a great and successful tradition of hosting chess events. There is no home advantage (either through birth or residence) and the objectivity and fairness of the event is ensured by the officials organising it.

to him by FIDE but Anand has so far not signed

"Well, this is what Kramnik fans have been reduced to..."

C'mon Amit, not all "Kramnik Fans" are going to make a big deal out of a blitz result...even if it is an Anand speciality. So now that you've emptied your spleen in regard to Kramnik, I hope you feel better.

Personally, I hope that Kramnik wins the title back next year, but I'm not going to denigrate a great player like Anand because of it.

"Well, this is what Kramnik fans have been reduced to."

Dear, you're being kidded.

The final results of first day have been posted. Surprisingly, at least to me, Ivanchuk is leading with 13.5 points out of 19. Grischuk is second with 13 followed by Kamski with 12.5. It is sad but Karpov is at the botton of the table with 5.5.

Has anybody followed the games live on the net? I wonder if the relaying worked well. I always thought those sensor boards were not good in blitz games but technology might have gotten better.

Indeed, it was quite obvious acrirce was kidding with the blitz comment, but the serious reaction of Amit just shows what Anand fans have been reduced to.

> it will be dawned on Kramnik that his time has come and gone!

This reminds me of some Federer's haters who started chanting "federer's-time-is-over, federer's-time-is-over" after a couple of losses in spring of this year. Funny stuff!

Chris B> It's interesting to watch the Kramnik groupies now train their guns on Anand

Ahhh, now you see what's going on. And it's gonna get worse. Kramnik
Central will drown you in gobbles of rhetoric. Brace yourselves...

Chris B> Having done so, he should have kept to what he originally signed to, not blackmail an ILLEGITIMATE condition afterwards.

Hmmmm, I have been saying that for a long time... Kramnik got his
Title Insurance Policy from Kremlin, via Berlin :-) Then Topalov got
his too for Danailov to stay quiet. It's just unfair to Anand to have
to play a title defense every year. Kramnik would have never, ever
done that, knowing him. And his cronies would have defended that
decision with all the verbal voracity one can imagine. Look at the
tantrums they threw when Kramnik was obliged to play Mexico by prior
contract. Some don't even recognize Anand as a champion.

Still, there will be a match. Kramnik is getting to #1 -- that's
great. It will get interesting. There is a lot more Chess to be
played. The one and only thing I have always disliked about Kramnik
and his fans is that they never recognized anyone else.

D.

@D:This reminds me of some Federer's haters who started chanting "federer's-time-is-over, federer's-time-is-over" after a couple of losses in spring of this year. Funny stuff!
-------------------------------------
What's funnier is that Kramnik only recently acknowledged that he is the Nadal and its Vishy who is the Federer of chess..

"Kramnik just gave Anand a good blitz beating."

Congratulations to Kramnik, the new World Champion!

-- Posted by: acirce at November 21, 2007 08:35

Wow, I am impressed. That 13 Be2xa6!! was a -wicked- tactical shot by Kramnik, one of the best of the year.

Kramnik's 13 Be2xa6!! is based on that most fundamental tactic, the PIN.

Um, this "Amit" didn't really think I was serious, right? Must have played along with the joke... right?

I have to learn that this is the Internet soon...

"This was entirely ILLEGITIMATE and broke the original terms of the contract AND ALSO BROKE THE TERMS ON WHICH ANAND SIGNED UP FOR TO PLAY IN MEXICO."

Practicing law without a license, Captain Capslock?

Kramnik's 13 Be2xa6!! is just really awesome, as is the wicked zwischenzug Rc1-c6!, forcing the Black d6-queen to the d7-square so that Nf3-e5 comes with TEMPO.

Kramnik's blitz beatdown of Anand is one of the best played tactical sequences I have seen all year.

"What's funnier is that Kramnik only recently acknowledged that he is the Nadal and its Vishy who is the Federer of chess.." - I know what's funnier than that: how about the fact that you are twisting what Kramnik said into the exact opposite? Kramnik surely didn't mean he was Nadal to Anand's Federer. If anything, he was implying the reverse.

Ah, the things Anand fas resort to...

I find it ironic that Anand fans twist the words and claim Kramnik is Nadal to Anand's Federer on the day Kramnik added a blitz win over Anand to his classical victory over Anand and his blindfold victory over Anand from earlier this year. He also finished ahead of Anand in 2 out of 3 classical tournaments this year as well as Monaco.

[Event "Blitz WCC Moscow"]
[Date "2007.11.21"]
[Round "11"]
[White "GM Kramnik, Vladimir(RUS)"]
[Black "GM Anand, Viswanathan(IND)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2007.11.21"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5 8. e3
Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Qa4+ Nc6 13. Bxa6 Ra8 14. Bxb7 Rxa4
15. Bxc6+ Kf8 16. Nxa4 Ne4 17. Bb7 Nd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Rc6 Qd7 20. Rc8+ Bd8
21. Ne5 {White wins 1-0} 1-0

By the way, kudos to the organizers having broadcasted all the games succesfully.

Nice pictures: http://surov-live.livejournal.com/7129.html

In the last one, Kramnik does not show much respect to his "great predecessor", does he? :)

Dimi,

I've appreciated your excellent posts for a long time now.
I have been seeing what's going on likewise and it's not pleasant viewing.
Yep, I know all about Kramnik Central. They are organised and we are not. There are a few other good posters here such as Derida, Anand Nair, I see dead pieces, d_tal, Krishna, etc. But some of us have jobs to do or whatever, and don't have all day to post to Daily Dirt.

You are right, there wiil be a match (Ilyumzhinov always forces his way). And it will be interesting; the most interesting possible match-up there is at the moment. It is just that Kramnik should have had to qualify for it.

Like you, I disagree with the draw-odds demand. A player that can only draw a match is only a co-Champion, not a full Champion.
Particularly in a short match it is too great a factor (eg Kramnik-Leko).
12 games is ridiculously short of course, this being the reason Topalov got desperate in Elista. A World Championship Match should be 16 games at an absolute minimum, probably longer.

Poor Kramnik. All he had to do to qualify for his match was beat Kasparov, draw Leko and beat Topalov in a match. Some would call that harder than winning a single round-robin tournament.

If Anand beats Kramnik, are you going to insist that Anand re-qualify for the next match by entering WorldCup/GrandPrix, or whatever FIDE will use? Or will you agree that he has some privileges as standing champion?

Topalov's worst showing in Elista was in the first two games. Did he get desperate as soon as the match started?

tie-breaks - keep playing classical chess games until someone wins. The huge numbers of draws in Karpov v Kasparov I was a huge statistical oddity that should not overshadow common sense every time this issue is brought up.

When Anand agreed to play in Mexico was there anything that said when his next title defense would be? Was there any guarantees about how the challenger would be chosen? Or were these rights given to FIDE? I don't know but I bet its the latter. If my hunch is right Anand doesn't have much legal basis to object to the Kramnik match.

Does he have any non legal clout? Well some it is the unified title. But he loses allot because he won it by a common tournament that is not really distinguishable from events that happen multiple times a year.

Anand will see first hand why Kirsan wants tournament champions. Winning a tournament no matter what its called is just not as prestigious as winning a world championship match. Therefore tournament champions have no bargaining power against Kirsan's every whim.

acirce, russianbear, rdh, et. al.,

I hope you were kidding about kicking me out of the group because I have a job. Anyway, I missed the last meeting; whose turn is it to post nonsensical pro-Kramnik lies?

"The huge numbers of draws in Karpov v Kasparov I was a huge statistical oddity that should not overshadow common sense every time this issue is brought up."

We are unlikely to have 20 draws in a row. But considering today's draw rates and that the Golden Goal type rule you are proposing is likely to lead to more cautionary play, we are quite likely to have at least four. Which, at the rate of one game a day and 12-game match, means you are proposing a huge and unpredictable increase in cost of the event, percentage-wise.

Cool Idea From Earlier Posts:
{
"A thought. Wouldn't it be fun if they played blinded as to who is the opponent, but see the board.
There would be fewer grandmaster draws"

Actually, that would be an interesting experiment:
}

I agree, that would be cool.
The grandmasters are so used to preparing for their known opponent's openings, they would probably dislike the idea.

[Event "Blitz WCC Moscow"]
[Date "2007.11.21"]
[Round "11"]
[White "GM Kramnik, Vladimir(RUS)"]
[Black "GM Anand, Viswanathan(IND)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2007.11.21"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5 8. e3
Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Qa4+ Nc6 13. Bxa6 Ra8 14. Bxb7 Rxa4
15. Bxc6+ Kf8 16. Nxa4 Ne4 17. Bb7 Nd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Rc6 Qd7 20. Rc8+ Bd8
21. Ne5 {White wins 1-0} 1-0

--Posted by: Zombre at November 21, 2007 15:20

Make sure you check out 13 Be2xa6!!.

Someone should tell Kramnik that the Slav Exchange is supposed to be a dull draw. Here Kramnik plays a stupendous tactical game (13 Be2xa6!!, 19 Rc1-c6! zwischenzug).

Ridiculous defeat for Anand. He appears as someone who has forgotten the tricks and troublues in Slav if you have played Bf5 in the exchange structure.
( a kind of "GM-version" of the "Patzer's Slav" 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 +-)

here another memorable one :

Event "Corus"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2007.01.15"]
[EventDate "2007.01.13"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Ruslan Ponomariov"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 h6 7. Qb3 Ra7 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Bd2 e6 10. Rc1 Nbd7 11. Bb5! +-
( 1-0 in 30)

[Event "Canadian Open"]
[Site "Ottawa Canada"]
[Date "2007.07.09"]
[EventDate "2007.07.07"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "John Bick"]
[Black "Aquino Inigo"]
[ECO "D14"]
[WhiteElo "2217"]
[BlackElo "1902"]
[PlyCount "121"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bf5 7. e3 a6 8. Rc1 Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Qa4 Nc6 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. Ne5 Qb6 15. Nd1 Qb5 16. Qxb5 axb5 17. Rxc6 Rxc6 18. Nxc6 Nh5 19. Bc7 Kd7 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21. Ba5 Rc8 22. Nc3 Rb8 23. Bb4 Kd7 24. Rc1 Nf6 25. Kf1 Ne4
26. Nxe4 Bxe4 27. f3 Bd3 28. Ke1 Rc8 29. Bc5 Ra8 30. a3 Rb8 31. Kd2 Bf5 32. Rc3 Ra8 33. Rb3 Kc6 34. Bb4 Bb1 35. Rc3 Kb7 36. Rc5 Kb6 37. Rc1 Bg6 38. Bd6 Re8 39. Bc7 Kb7 40. Bd6 Rc8 41. Rxc8 Kxc8 42. Bf8 Bb1 43. Bxg7 Ba2 44. Kc3 Kb7 45. Bf6 Bc4
46. Kb4 Kc6 47. Be7 Bf1 48. g3 Be2 49. f4 Bd3 50. Ka5 Kb7 51. Kb4 Kc6 52. Kc3 Be2 53. Kb4 Bd3 54. b3 f5 55. Bf8 h5 56. Ka5 Kb7 57. Bb4 Be2 58. Bf8 Bf1 59. Kb4 Kc6 60. Ka5 Kb7 61. Bb4 1/2-1/2

Wonder if Kramnik was aware of this.

Anand attempted the tie-odds demand to prove that he is the only current WCChampion.
Only the WCC could attempt the tie-odds demand.

Compare Anand attempting that demand -to- Kramnik attempting it.
Anand was told "No", but Kramnik would have been told "Are you kidding??".

Good hardball public relations by Anand.

Doesnt matter what kramnik implied. he is probably good only at matches where too, save the one match with Kasparov, his record has been spotty. That is like Nadal, who is only good on clay. Vishy is good at matches, tournaments, knockouts, rapids, blitz, chess960 .. everything. Russianbear so desperately wants Kramnik to be Federer to Vishy's Nadal .. that he ignores realities.

I must add however, that Kramnik's Dortmund and Tal wins are a step in the right direction .. much like Nadal making the Wimbledon final next year. I am a little sceptical of Kramnik's Dortmund and Tal wins since it appears most of the opposition was concentrating on Mexico and Khanty-Mansik anyway. I think he did OK in Corus 2007 .. but if he wins Corus 2008, I will believe that the Nadal of Chess is close to taking over Federer's (Vishy) mantle.

By the way, Mig also commented that Kramnik was the Nadal and Vishy the Federer.

Having said all those seemingly negative things about Kramnik, I would like to acknowledge the great blitz game played by Kramnik against Anand.

@acirce:

Thanks for that info. I didn't think this Be2xa6 idea was new.

Anyway, Kramnik still played without prep the tremendous ZWISCHENZUG 19 Rc1-c6! first and then 20 Rc6-c8+, forcing the Black d6-queen onto the d7-square so that 21 Nf3-e5 comes with TEMPO, versus playing the more obvious 19 Rc1-c8+?! in one shot.

19 Rc1-c6! is one of the best ZWISCHENZUG I have seen all year.

Yuriy,

I guess whatever privileges a Champion has, if any, should be spelled out beforehand.
In signing up for the Topalov match, Kramnik agreed he would have none if he won, just the right to play in Mexico.
So is it OK for Kramnik to go around breaking contracts willy-nilly? This is the point.
One might note that Kramnik himself wouldn't allow Kasparov any privilege. He wouldn't even give him an acceptable qualifier to play in.

After a very unlucky start, Topalov was 2 down after 4 games. With only 4 whites left, his situation was getting beyond recovery. A longer match would have given him a decent chance to recover.

"Doesnt matter what kramnik implied. he is probably good only at matches where too, save the one match with Kasparov, his record has been spotty."

Are you blind, or just willfully ignorant, cheesy?

I'll try not to rehash Kramnik's excellent tournament record this year or the fact that he will be #1 in the next rating list.

That blitz win against Anand indeed seems to prove that Kramnik is the real WC.

On the other hand, since beating Anand, Kramnik lost to Rublevsky. Therefore Rublevsky is the greatest player ever.

Just trying some Kramnik-fan logic.

Kramnik lost White(!) blitz games to both Rublevsky(!) and Dreev(!), showing you again that blitz chess and classicl chess are different things.

Dreev and Rublevsky would have zero chance of winning Black games against Kramnik in classical chess.

Looking forward to Kramnik supporters arguing that winning tournaments and being World #1 make Kramnik the true World Champion after arguing that the exact same performance measures did not apply to Topalov last year.

"As for 2005, I remember it differently. I remember Topalov finishing tied for 1st place, and given that he beat Kasparov head-to-head, he was without a doubt a moral winner of the event, if there was one, so Kasparov has hardly proven his superiority in 2005, either."

How do you remember it differently? Kasparov was claimed the winner on tiebreaks because of higher number of black wins. There is no such thing as moral winners.

As for "if there was one, so Kasparov has hardly proven his superiority in 2005, either." this is deviating from the point. Chessplayers claimed Anand was now stronger than Kasparov, only to see Anand fold in Linares proving this was not the case.

I think Anand is a decent person, but after reading many of these posts, quite a few of his so called fans appear to be jackasses...one in particular and you know who you are.

"In addition to the countries listed by greg...

France is out because Kramnik's wife lives there.
Spain is out because Anand lives there.
South and Central America are out because Anand speaks Spanish.
Asia is out because Anand knows people who competed in Asian cups.
Africa is out because Kramnik's granduncle's ex-step sister's myspace site has a picture of a zebra.
And so on.... "
-Posted by: insomniac at November 19, 2007 14:03

Haha, nice.

lol @ Kramnik and Kramnik fans using numerous tactics to make Anand play!!

Never qualified, yet forever champion!! (In fact disqualified!!)

No read meat intended here for either Kramnik or Anand groupies...just a few observations about what happened on the board.

It wasn't much of a game, and 13.Bxa6 wasn't much of a combination - not even for a blitz game. Obviously the guy who keeps giving it two exclams and calling it "one of the best shots of the year" was being ironic (I hope).

Many players from 1800 on up would see it, and play it. I believe that John Bick, a mere FM with a rating in the low 2200s, is easily strong enough to have dreamed up the idea in his own head - even if it turns out he knew about it from some previously published game (I haven't tried to look up the history).

Black simply played terribly, and was lost by move 11 or so.

As for Ponomoriov-Carlsen, that had me confused for awhile too. Even now that I've looked at it, Ovidiu's "+-" label seems a little much -- but Black's situation is indeed tougher than it may appear at first glance. What confused me is that my version of Fritz (Fritz8 - yeah I know, I'm a troglodyte) gives White only a modest edge (+0.27, after 11...Be7, followed by 15 minutes running time). But after playing out Fritz's next few moves, I can see its evaluation is wrong, White's advantage is more substantial than that. It appears Black won't be able to castle (after White trades twice on d7 then plays Na4, apparently forcing ....Bd8, and then follows with Bb4). So Black will end up playing the next several moves without his KR, while White quickly mobilizes both his rooks on the c-file.

Chris B: You are right, there wiil be a match (Ilyumzhinov always forces his way).

Yes Chris, but I am starting to see things your way now -- Anand is
right for not giving in easily. Amazing how ready Kramnik is to play
now -- before it was impossible to get him, no matter what money he
was oferred. Vishy is in his full right to ask for something here --
after all, look what Kramnik got for playing difficult... A guaranteed
match, one way or another, no matter how Mexico07 ends. And the match
already pre-sold in Germany, mind you?!? Now that's sick! Good job
Hensel! And everybody is so approving of this little, wonderful
scheme... BTW, who is representing Anand? He clearly needs a tough SOB
of a manager who can push hard for him -- otherwise these slugs will
walk all over him. And these are the first steps to losing the match.
And the psychological war hasn't started yet. Wait until that happens.

D.

Wow, so much analysis on Kramnik win today against Vishy! Ok, they call it blitz, but its more like Armageddon time controls (4+2 is like 6+0 if the game lasts 60 moves; regular 'blitz' is usually at least a few minutes longer). If the same players play this format once each month, I'm pretty sure we'll see at least 8-10 different winners each year. It is that unpredictable. Also, given that Vishy is going to level scores against Kramnik tomorrow, I don't see what makes this so much of a big deal anyway..

>It wasn't much of a game, and 13.Bxa6 wasn't much of a combination - not even for a blitz game...Black simply played terribly..>

That was my point, it was a pathetic game for Anand even by the blitz-standard.
He just seemed to have forgotten the typical traps (Qb3/a4, b7 pawn, Kd8 pin) and tricks in that sub-variation (Bf5 early development) of
exchange Slav.

(while Carlsen's falling for one them can be excused on his youth, lack of experience and thus sense of danger in this kind of position)

Kramnik has spent major part of his chess career trying to justify his World Chess Ch